


Five Times Tony Surprised Peter

by LostInThought16



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Irondad, Ironfamily, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, spiderson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:47:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23799508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInThought16/pseuds/LostInThought16
Summary: The world Peter came back to after the snap was reversed is different than the world he left. Tony, in particular, seems a lot different than he did before the snap. Peter keeps finding himself surprised by his new normal with Tony.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 25
Kudos: 162





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a hot second, but I'm back with more Ironfamily fluff. This one will have more angst involved than my previous two, but there will still be plenty of fluff. I'm still undecided on what I want the plus one to be for this one. It will either be "and one time he didn't" or "and one time Peter surprised Tony." Feel free to share your opinion if you have a preference.

Peter glanced at the seat across from him and watched with interest as Tony shed the armor that had been specially made to withstand the force of the infinity stones. Later, Peter would grill Tony with questions about how he designed it and what sort of calculations he ran to be sure it would work (if he was even sure it would work, that is, but Peter wasn’t really ready to think about _that_ possibility yet). Those questions would have to wait until later, though, because Peter didn’t have the energy right now. The last few hours had been more physically and emotionally draining than the first 16 years of Peter’s life combined, and he was content to spend the rest of the journey back to earth in a bit of a daze.

“You doing alright, Peter?” Pepper’s voice drew Peter’s attention to where she sat next to Tony across from him. Of course Pepper was the one checking in with people. Even when the course of human history had just been rewritten, she was cool, collected, and in control.

Peter nodded slightly. “I’m good. Thanks, Ms. Potts.”

“Excuse me, you mean Mrs. Stark,” Tony sniped, smirking as he dropped the last bits of his armor onto the ground by his feet.

Peter’s head snapped back and forth between Tony and Pepper. Any other time, he might have tried to control his reaction a bit more, but he didn’t have the energy right now. “You guys are...um, oh, uh, congratulations,” Peter finally managed to get out.

Tony’s eyes flew to meet Peter’s, the surprise evident on his face. There was a look that Peter couldn’t place for a split second, but it slipped away as Tony cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. “Oh, right. I guess in the midst of the purple psycho trying to take us all out, I forgot to mention that detail. I finally went and made her legally responsible for me.”

Pepper’s eyes flitted to Peter for a moment. He could feel her appraising him. She paused briefly before rolling her eyes and scoffing exaggeratedly. “I think I became legally responsible for you the day you made me CEO of your company, Mr. Stark.” Tony looked like he was about to make some retort, but Pepper cut him off. “But yes, I am now personally responsible for Mr. Stark as well as professionally. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment.”

Peter did his best to force a laugh at their playful banter, but it came out a little choked off and weird. His head was reeling, and he didn’t know what to think or feel. He was happy for Tony and Pepper. Of course he was. He cared deeply for both of them, and it hadn’t taken him long after meeting Tony to realize that Tony and Pepper were perfect for each other. Hearing that they had gotten married was good news. But it was also painful to realize that they had been married, and he didn’t even know if it had been months or years since it had happened because he had been out of their lives for 5 years. Just like that, 5 years of the existence of humanity had slipped away from him. Tony and Pepper had gone on getting married and running Stark Industries and doing God knows what else, and Peter had simply ceased to exist. He didn’t know if it would ever feel even kind of okay that he had been gone like that. It was too much to think about right now. He needed a break.

He looked back up just in time to see Tony chuckling at his phone screen. Pepper must have said something to him because they seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. “Morgan will love that,” Tony said, tacking on another chuckle at the end. Peter squinted slightly. Morgan wasn’t a familiar name, but Tony knew a lot of people. Perhaps Morgan was one Peter hadn’t meant in the months they’d spent getting to know one another. Or maybe Morgan was a friend Tony and Pepper had made while he was gone. That thought made him shift uncomfortably in his seat.

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Morgan loves any excuse to push her bedtime later. Especially since she knows what a pushover her father is when she pulls that face.” Peter could feel his heart pounding in his chest as his brain struggled to keep up with the implications of the conversation going on around him.

Tony’s eyebrows quirked up. “Yes, I’m the pushover, says the woman who let her wear her Elsa snow boots in June.”

Pepper opened her mouth to respond, but Peter’s thoughts must have been readable on his face because she snapped her mouth shut and turned to face him fully. He could see her pause and take a breath before she addressed him. “I’m sorry, Peter. We’re not doing a very good job of this, are we? I can’t imagine how overwhelming it must be to hear about all of the things that have happened. As Tony said earlier, we got married. We also had a child. A daughter. Her name is Morgan, and she’s four years old now.”

Peter could feel the air rush out of his lungs. Four years old. Tony and Pepper had a child who was four years old. She had been born, learned to walk, started talking, gotten a mouth full of teeth, and, knowing Tony and Pepper, she’d probably already started to read. And Peter had been there for none of it. Nearly a quarter of her childhood had passed, and he was just now learning of her existence.

Before Peter’s thoughts could continue to spiral, Tony was talking again. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention we had offspring. She’s messy, she’s sassy, and she has way too much energy. I’ve been advocating for a full refund at the baby warehouse, but the missus thinks she’s cute, so I guess we have to keep her.”

Peter watched as Pepper stood and then tugged Tony to stand. She leaned in close to his face, probably in an attempt to keep Peter from hearing what she was about to say, but he could very clearly make out the, “Not now!” she leveled at Tony. With a gentle pull on his arm, she quickly led Tony down the aisle and away from Peter.

Peter appreciated her concern. Of course she recognized what Peter was thinking, and of course she cared about being sensitive to his feelings. But this was Tony. Emotionally heavy moments had never been his strong suit, and sarcasm was his chosen way of dealing with it. Peter wasn’t bothered by it. Not too much, anyway. Not nearly as much as he was bothered to learn that Tony and Pepper had built an entire life together and he hadn’t been there for it. As the adrenaline from the battle wore off, he became more and more aware of the reality he now faced. The melancholy was beginning to seep in, and with it came thousands of uncomfortable thoughts, but he was too tired to deal with that right now. For the moment, he just wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep and pretend none of it had ever happened. He assumed he’d have trouble falling asleep with all of the thoughts swimming in his mind, but within 5 minutes he had drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Peter awoke with a startle. The spaceship (or whatever vehicle they were in, he’d ask Tony later) was shaking violently as light erupted outside the windows. Within moments, Peter could make out the clouds around them. “We’ll be back on the ground in a few minutes,” Tony said. A quick glance told Peter that Tony and Pepper had come back to sit across from him while he had been sleeping. “Do you want to get up and stretch your legs while we land?” Peter nodded because at this point it was too much effort to think about what he actually wanted. It was easier to just go along with whatever others suggested. He disengaged his harness and stood up from his seat, wincing slightly at the mild soreness in his legs when he got up. He followed Tony down the aisle and nodded at the various people he passed on his way out. Any other day, he’d have wanted to chat with each and every Avenger he passed, but he didn’t have it in him right now.

“We’re just about to land,” Pepper said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder as they stopped near the door. Sure enough, Peter felt a jolt as the spacecraft touched down. Within a few minutes, the door had opened, and the trio was stepping down the stairway.

Peter glanced around, trying to get a feel for where they had decided to land. “Do you know where we are?” he asked, eyes flicking to Pepper as he spoke.

She nodded and smiled that soft, sympathetic smile that Peter had seen way too many times today. “This is our home, Peter. Tony and I moved upstate after we got married. We thought it would be better to get away from the city after, well, after everything.” Peter nodded. He didn’t need a reminder of what constituted “everything.”

The sound of feet pounding against the grass caught Peter’s attention. When he looked up, he saw a brown-haired, brown-eyed child sprinting in his general direction. His eyes widened slightly. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to say. To his relief, the child ran past him and barreled into Tony’s arms. “Daddy, I missed you!” she squealed. The unbridled joy she exuded told Peter that she had no idea that her father had nearly died hours ago. Peter was grateful for that small mercy. She regarded Tony for a moment before continuing on. “You were gone a long time,” she said, her tone just shy of reproachful in a way that made Peter’s heart clench. The only person who was allowed to take that sort of tone with Tony was Pepper, and Peter knew full well how Tony felt about Pepper. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what that must mean about the beaming child now perched on Tony’s hip.

Tony’s smile lit up his face in a way Peter wasn’t used to seeing. He guessed it must feel like that to see your child after rewriting the course of human history. “I missed you too, Maguna. Almost as much as I missed Gerald.”

Peter’s shock at discovering that Tony apparently had another child must’ve been noticeable because he immediately felt a tug on his arm. “Gerald’s our alpaca,” Pepper whispered. Of course Tony had an alpaca now. Somehow that made sense in this strange world Peter now stood in.

Peter’s attention was drawn back to Tony and Morgan as she crossed her arms across her chest and pouted emphatically. “Daddy, you can’t miss Gerald more than me!”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know, little miss. _Gerald_ never gives me grief about bedtime.”

Morgan lifted her chin in challenge. “Gerald doesn’t _have_ a bedtime, Daddy.” Tony’s head tilted to the side. He looked like he was about to respond when Morgan apparently decided to move the conversation forward. “Who’s that?” she asked, pointing at Peter.

Tony tapped her lightly on the nose. “Manners, Madam Secretary. It’s rude to point at people. It’s also rude to ask: ‘Who’s that?’ If you see someone you don’t know and you’d like to meet them, introduce yourself. You know that.”

“I’m Morgan,” she said, hand now stretched out toward Peter.

“Peter,” he barely managed to choke out.

“Oh, you’re Peter!” she all but squealed.

Tony chuckled as he used his free hand to clap Peter on the shoulder. “Morgan’s a big fan of yours, Pete. Peter stories are her favorite bedtime stories.”

Peter managed a small smile in response. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to that. Was there a normal way to ask: “Now that I’ve been gone for five years, what exactly would you like me to do now?”

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of his name being screamed, nearly sobbed across the lawn. May. All the air left Peter’s lungs. He hadn’t expected his aunt to be out here at Tony’s house. He turned as fast as he could and found May sprinting across the lawn with Happy trailing behind her. “Peter!” she cried again, and this time she was actually sobbing. Peter caught her easily as she crashed into his chest and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into the hair on the side of his head. “I’ve missed you so much.” He could feel her tears leaking down his neck. In a way, it felt right. For once today it felt like someone else was on the same emotional wavelength as he was.

“Missed you too, May,” he whispered back. He could feel his own tears beginning to fall.

She clung to him for what felt like hours before finally stepping back and holding him at arms’ length. Her appraising gaze ran from his head to his feet and back up again before she spoke. “Are you alright?”

That was a loaded question. He didn’t feel alright. He had been gone for five years, and the whole world had apparently gone on without him. He didn’t know if he’d ever feel alright. But one glance at her tear-stained face told him she needed reassurance, not his problems. He was at least uninjured, so that was good. “No, not hurt,” he said softly, glancing down slightly because it was always hard to lie to May. “A little sore all over, but I guess that kind of comes with the territory of fighting the guy who killed off half the population.” May let out a strangled sob at that. “Too soon?” he asked, smiling as much as he could manage. May’s only response was to tug him back into her arms and squeeze him again.

To Peter’s relief, he could hear a pair of footsteps approaching. “Why don’t you guys come inside?” Pepper offered as she stopped a few feet away from them. “Tony’s going to make a whole bunch of pasta. We thought everyone could use some food after the big day we’ve all had.”

Peter glanced toward May, wordlessly asking her if they could stay. After seeing her nod, he turned back to Pepper. “Yeah, pasta sounds great.”

The next couple hours passed in a whirlwind. Everyone filed into the house, and Tony immediately took to the kitchen to start making pasta and homemade sauce. Pepper had sliced up vegetables for a salad which Morgan then dumped into a large bowl, providing her opinions on each of the ingredients as she went. Peter couldn’t tear his eyes away the entire time. Tony had caught him staring a few times and thrown Peter a playful wink each time, but Peter couldn’t bring himself to stop staring.

This felt like the twilight zone. Tony had a kid. Tony had a kid who looked at him like he hung the moon, and he looked at her just the same way. It wasn’t so much that Peter was surprised that Tony was a good parent. Despite what Tony might have wanted to tell people, he had all the makings of a good dad. He was smart, loyal, genuine, kind, and fiercely protective of those he loved. Still, the way Tony shied away and deflected when anyone mentioned how well he could love and nurture when he wanted to made it clear that he didn’t have confidence in his parenting abilities yet. Well, or five years ago, anyway. Apparently now Tony was the kind of dad who made dinner and washed faces and enforced bedtimes. The entire world had changed, and Peter had been unceremoniously dumped back into it.

“Pete?” he heard, accompanied by a gentle shove to his shoulder.

“Hmm?” Peter responded, glancing up to see a smirking Tony standing over him.

“You gonna come into the kitchen and get some pasta, or are you just gonna sit here and catch flies instead?”

Peter mustered as much of a smile as he was capable of at this point. “Yeah, coming,” he said softly as he stood from the couch. “Sorry, I guess I’m just feeling a little tired. Long day, you know.”

Tony’s eyes softened. His smirk morphed into a fond smile. “Yeah, I hear you. It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?”

Peter chuckled. “I guess you could say that.”

“Let’s get some food into you, then. I bet you could use it after the day you’ve had.”

Peter nodded. “Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

As they made their way into the kitchen, Tony stopped and glanced back at him. Not for the first time today, Peter couldn’t quite place the look on his face. “Hey Pete?”

“Hmm?” Peter hummed, now stopping in the door jamb.

“It’s good to have you back.” Peter’s heart caught in his throat. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He closed his mouth for a second and swallowed, glancing down at the floor. There were so many things he wanted to say, and he had no idea where to begin. He opened his mouth to try again, but when Peter looked back up from the floor, Tony had already wandered back into the kitchen and started dishing up a plate of pasta for Morgan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments and kudos on the first chapter! I really appreciate you all, and I'm so glad you liked it. If you're reading this, thanks for coming back for chapter two! This one swings significantly more fluffy and less angsty than chapter one, but there's still a bit of both.

“You got everything?” Happy asked as Peter climbed out of the passenger side of the black Audi Happy was driving today.

“Yeah, I’m good. See you later, Happy.” Happy had come into the city to pick Peter up and bring him to the lake house, and he was just now dropping him off in front of the house. Peter had gotten into the habit of coming up to Tony’s place for a day nearly every weekend since the snap had been reversed, but this particular Saturday was different. Today, he was going to spend the day with the Starks, and then he’d spend the night at their house before being driven back to Queens the next day. Happy had some business in the city this evening, and he wouldn’t have been available to come get Peter until the middle of the night. When Happy had pitched the idea of Peter staying the night to May and Peter, it had been all Peter could do to keep a calm facade. Internally, he was elated at the idea of spending more time with the Stark family. He had grown to cherish these days spent with Tony, Pepper, and Morgan, and he’d take all the extra hours he could get.

He glanced back to watch Happy pull away from the house before walking up to the front door. He was about to open the door, but as he reached for the handle, the door was thrown open and Morgan came bounding out. “Peter!” she exclaimed, throwing herself at his legs.

“Hey, Morgan,” he responded with a chuckle while transferring his duffel bag to his left hand so that he could wrap his right arm around Morgan’s shoulders.

“Morgan, let’s give Peter a few minutes to get his bag set down and get settled.” 

Peter smiled at the sight of Pepper appearing behind Morgan. “Hi, Ms. Potts,” Peter greeted as he threw his bag over his shoulder.

Pepper raised her eyebrows. “Pepper,” she corrected good-naturedly. Peter blushed, but didn’t verbally respond. Pepper took pity on him and carried on without further prodding. “Why don’t you drop your stuff in the guest bedroom? Don’t worry, I changed the sheets and freshened up the room, so you shouldn’t be sleeping in a pile of dust.”

“Thank you,” Peter replied gratefully before disappearing down the hallway to drop off his bag.

When he emerged from the guest room, Morgan was waiting for him and practically bouncing in place. “Will you go down to the dock with me?”

Peter tilted his head to the side a bit. “Are your parents okay with that?”

Morgan nodded eagerly. “Yes, can we go now?”

Peter glanced around quickly to see if Tony or Pepper was around and could vouch for her, but upon seeing that neither of them were present, he decided he’d have to settle for pressing Morgan a little. “Are you _sure_ they’re okay with it?”

At this point, Morgan actually was bouncing on her toes. “Yes, Petey, they won’t care. Can we _please_ go?”

Peter paused for a moment but eventually relented. “Okay, but we’re not getting in the water. It’s not warm enough for that.”

“Okay!” Morgan shouted, already on her way to the back door. Peter jogged after her to catch up.

The next couple hours passed in a blur of skipping rocks, naming the birds, and planning the adventures they’d go on once it was warm enough to get in the water. Peter was so engrossed in Morgan’s explanation of her latest plan that he didn’t realize Tony had come outside until he was standing inches from Peter’s right shoulder. “What are you two doing on the dock?”

Peter could feel his face heating up. In hindsight, he really should have found Pepper or Tony earlier and asked if it was okay. “Morgan said-” Peter began, but he was interrupted by Morgan who had now come over to stand at Tony’s feet and peer up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

“It’s okay, Daddy. I wasn’t by myself! I was with Peter!”

Tony crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. “What’s the rule about the dock, Morgan?”

“That I have to be with an adult,” Morgan replied. She broke eye contact for a split second, indicating that she realized that she had broken a rule, but she was quick to justify it. “Peter is basically an adult, Daddy!”

Tony looked rather unimpressed. “Peter is not basically an adult. He can’t even drive yet.”

“Rude,” Peter huffed quietly while Tony glanced down at him and winked.

“Daddy, I’m sorry. I really thought it was okay,” Morgan said quietly, now schooling her face into a look of remorse.

Tony regarded her for a moment before responding. On one hand, he had his doubts about whether it really hadn’t crossed her mind at all that she would be better off asking one of her parents. On the other hand, it was kind of a gray area, and he could see how a teenager like Peter could seem like an adult to a four year-old. Internally preparing himself for the crap he was going to catch from Pepper later when she found out that he’d let Morgan off the hook, he sighed and nodded. “Okay, Maguna, I hear you. Next time, please tell me or Mommy where you’re going before you go, okay?” The flash of relief on Morgan’s face when she realized that she was getting by with only a gentle chastisement was probably more obvious than she had intended for it to be. “But you need to go back in the house now, anyway,” Tony continued. “It’s six o’clock. It’s time for dinner. Go back up to the house, get washed up, and help Mommy set the table.” Morgan eagerly nodded and scurried back up to the house. On some days, she’d try to argue for a few more minutes to play, but today she seemed reticent to press her luck.

When Morgan was already halfway up to the house, Peter stood up from the dock and winced. “I’m sorry I didn’t come find one of you, Mr. Stark. Morgan asked, and I thought maybe we should’ve checked if it was okay, but I let her convince me it was fine.”

Tony chuckled fondly. “Don’t worry about it, Pete. She’s a master in persuasive tactics. I know that better than anybody else.” Peter smiled, glad that Tony wasn’t actually upset with him. He wouldn’t blame Tony for being angry that he had been careless about rules put in place for the safety of Tony’s only child. Tony seemed to sense his residual ambivalence, so he continued on easily. “In exchange, though, I expect you to vouch for me the next time she pulls one over on me and Pepper wants to give me heat for it.”

Peter smirked slightly at that. “So you agree that you regularly find yourself outsmarted by a four year-old, then?”

Tony’s smile turned to a playful glare. “Okay, Spider-brat, I was trying to be nice, but apparently you want to be snarky. If that’s how you want to play it, then you can be responsible for the dishes tonight.”

“Yes, sir,” Peter responded in a tone that sounded far from deferential. He turned and began to jog toward the house, leaving Tony to roll his eyes and follow.

When they arrived in the kitchen, Morgan and Pepper had assembled a spread of tacos with a variety of toppings on the table. Upon seeing the food laid out, Peter’s stomach began to grumble. He blushed lightly as Tony laughed and slapped him on the back. “Go get washed up so we can put some food in you, kid.”

Dinner was a drawn out affair with lots of jokes, laughs, and stories. Six tacos later, Peter finally scooted his plate away from him. A quick glance around the table told him that everyone else was done. He looked forward to dinner at the Stark house because Tony and Pepper always made sure to cook plenty of food to feed his large appetite. Morgan didn’t come into contact with any other teenage boys, so she never questioned her parents’ assertion that the reason Peter ate so much was simply because he was a teenage boy and that’s what teenage boys did.

After finishing the long-winded story he had been telling, Tony looked at Peter and smirked. “Ready to get cracking on those dishes, Peter?”

Pepper shot Tony an unimpressed look. “Let’s not demand manual labor from our guest.” She turned to face Peter. “Peter, honey, you don’t need to do the dishes.”

“I’m not demanding manual labor from our guest,” Tony argued, “he earned it with his sassy little mouth.”

Peter was feeling particularly cheeky, so he stuck his tongue out in response, much to the amusement of Morgan. “Peter, you really don’t need to do the dishes, regardless of whatever Tony is running his mouth about,” Pepper assured him.

Peter smiled at her. “Really, I don’t mind. I always do the dishes after dinner with May, so I guess it’s kind of a ‘comforts of home’ sort of thing.”

Pepper looked skeptical, but she eventually nodded. “If you’re sure.” At the nod that he gave her in response, Pepper stood up from the table and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Peter,” she said before herding Tony and Morgan out into the living room.

Peter emerged from the kitchen after putting away all the dishes to find Tony, Pepper, and Morgan curled up on the couch watching a tv show. Predictably, he felt a complicated mix of warmth at seeing people who meant the world to him sharing a tender moment and melancholy at feeling a bit like an outsider. He had come to expect this feeling whenever he walked in on a private moment between the Starks. As usual, he did his best to push it down and forge onward. “What are we watching?” he asked as he entered the room more fully.

Pepper looked up and smiled. “We were watching Daniel Tiger, but the episode just ended, and I think someone could use a bath now.”

Morgan shifted in her place between her parents to look at Tony. “Daddy, can I please-” she began, eyes widening and lips pouting, but Pepper cut her off.

“No, you absolutely may not, missy. It’s already 7:30, and you need a bath. Daddy will take you up and get you started.”

Morgan continued to stare wordlessly at her father, hoping he might grant her a few extra minutes since Peter was over, but he quickly shook his head. “No, Maguna, you heard your mom. But we can get out your boats if you hurry up and get going.” At the promise of an opportunity to use her new bath toys, Morgan was suddenly leaping off the couch and bounding out of the room. Tony got up to follow her, but spared a glance back at Peter. “Make yourself comfortable, kid. Watch whatever you want. I’ll get Morgan bathed, and then we can watch a movie or something after she goes to bed.” 

Peter stood up from the couch. “Actually, I could probably use a shower too. I was sweating quite a bit down on the dock.”

Tony grimaced. “TMI, kid.”

Peter rolled his eyes before continuing. “Anyway, I’m going to run to the guest bathroom and grab a shower. I’ll see you back in the living room later.”

“Here, let me show you where we keep the bath towels,” Pepper offered, grabbing his elbow to lead him out of the room.

When Peter returned from his shower, he was unsurprised to find that Tony and Morgan weren’t finished yet. Peter was in the habit of taking quick showers to conserve hot water, and he figured Morgan would want some time to play with her boats. He smiled to himself imagining the effort it would take Tony to convince her that it really was time to get out of the tub and dry off. After settling himself on the couch under a blanket and grabbing the remote off the coffee table, he put on a nature documentary on the Discovery Channel and flopped sideways. The exhaustion from the week was catching up to him, and he was really beginning to feel it now.

Peter wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Tony and Morgan emerged from the bathroom. Morgan was still smiling, but her eyes were beginning to droop from tiredness. “Maguna, it’s bedtime. Say goodnight to Peter,” Tony encouraged.

Morgan obliged and walked over to where Peter was lying. He sat up as she approached so he could hug her properly. “Good night, Petey,” she said softly, wrapping her arms around his neck before pressing a slightly sloppy kiss to his nose.

Peter couldn’t help but smile at the affection. “Good night, Mo. Love you tons.”

“Love you three thousand,” was the whispered reply.

When Morgan turned to walk back toward her father, Peter looked up at Tony to find a pair of appraising eyes looking him over. “On second thought, I don’t think Morgan’s the only one who needs bedtime right now.”

Peter shook his head quickly. “I’m fine, Mr. Stark, really. Just feeling relaxed after my shower.”

“So you’re telling me that when I come back here after putting Morgan to bed I won’t find you passed out on the couch?” Tony asked. Peter opened his mouth to deny the suggestion, but he found that he really couldn’t. If he was being honest with himself, he knew he was minutes away from falling asleep. That didn’t mean he had to like having the same bedtime as a four year-old. “That’s what I thought,” said Tony. “Come on, get up and head to bed. We can hang out in the morning.”

Peter thought for a second about putting up a token argument, but before he could say anything, Morgan was offering her opinion. “That’s Daddy’s ‘I made up my mind voice,’ Petey. You have to do it now.”

Tony’s mouth fell open in mock outrage as he swept Morgan up into his arms. “Excuse me, little miss. Are you saying I have a voice I use that makes you think you can change my mind?” Morgan didn’t verbally respond, but her giggle told everyone in the room what they needed to know. Tony tapped her gently on the nose with his index finger. “Well, you’ll have to let me know the next time I use _that_ voice so I can make sure not to change my mind.”

“Daddy,” Morgan whined half-heartedly, but the residual smile on her face told him she wasn’t actually bothered. With an exaggerated huff, he turned to carry Morgan back to her room and get her settled for bed. Peter watched them leave the room, feeling the familiar warmth bloom in his chest as he watched Tony love and dote on his daughter.

Finding himself alone in the living room, Peter folded the blanket he’d been using and then headed to the guest bedroom. “Crap,” he whispered as he opened his bag and discovered that he had forgotten to pack his toothbrush. To his relief, he found a few spares in the drawer in the en suite. He made quick work of brushing his teeth, moving his bag to the corner of the room, and turning down his bed. He was just about to turn out the light when he heard a soft knock on the door. He paused for a moment before going to answer it. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find Tony standing in the doorway. “Mr. Stark, did you need something?” he asked, brows furrowing in confusion.

Tony shook his head. “Nah, I just came by to say good night.”

Peter knew he did a rather terrible job at hiding his surprise. “Um, what?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Calm down, kid. I’m not going to, like, zip you into some footie pajamas and tuck you into bed with a teddy bear or something. I just realized I hadn’t gotten a chance to say good night earlier when I was getting Morgan settled, so I thought I’d stop by.”

“Oh, um, yeah,” Peter replied awkwardly.

Tony jerked his head slightly. “So are you going to let me in? Or are you ripping up the floorboards in there and trying to hide it from me?”

Peter was even more shocked at this. Exactly how much time did one really need to say good night? “Um, yeah, sure, come in,” Peter stuttered while stepping out of the doorway to allow Tony into the room. He stood just inside the doorway, still a bit unsure of exactly what was supposed to happen here, but when he saw Tony walk toward the bed, he followed him over and sat down next to him on the side of the bed.

“Thanks for coming to stay the night, Pete. Morgan, Pepper, and I were so glad you could stay. We always like it when you come by. It’s nice to have a little bit of extra time with you this weekend.”

Peter smiled softly. He didn’t know how much he needed the assurance that he was a welcome guest until he got it. “Thanks for having me, Mr. Stark. I love spending time with you guys too.”

“Don’t mention it.” Tony paused for a minute, staring absently at the wall before he began speaking again. “You know, it might be nice if you could do this again. If you have time, obviously. I know you’re busy chasing that girl that you definitely don’t have a crush on or whatever.” Peter scowled and moved to reply, but Tony was already rolling into his next comment. “We would like it if we could do this again, though. Morgan adores you, probably because you teach her how to be even more of a pain in my ass. And I thought maybe we could go out to the garage and work on a few projects. If you’d like, that is.”

Peter was now beaming. “Yes, I’d definitely like to.”

Tony smiled in that genuine way that he seemed to do a whole lot more now than before Peter had been gone. “Okay, it’s a deal then. I’ll talk to May, and we’ll figure out another time you can stay over. Maybe next time you’ll even be able to stay up with the grown-ups.” Once again, Peter scowled, this time emphasizing his annoyance with a gentle push to Tony’s arm. Tony’s only reply was a soft laugh. “Good night, kid. See you in the morning.”

After a gentle ruffle to Peter’s hair, Tony stood up from the bed and left the room, closing the door as he exited. Peter sat on the bed for a moment, staring at the door and trying to let his mind catch up with the conversation. Later, he’d unpack all of his thoughts on it, but for the time being, he allowed a soft sense of comfort and his tiredness to overwhelm him. After one final glance at the doorway, Peter stood up, switched off the lamp, and slid under the covers, smiling slightly as he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please, let me know if you have a preference on which way I go with the plus one. Also just let me know if you have anything to say in general.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry it's been a little while since I've updated. Life has gotten a bit busier for me. Without further ado, here's chapter 3.

Peter groaned softly at the sound of his alarm. It was too early to be up on a Saturday morning if you asked him. But he had decided the night before that he would get up early this morning so Morgan would have some supervision, and Tony and Pepper could sleep in. He had discovered on his first overnight adventure with the Starks that Morgan was an early bird. All of her pent up energy in the mornings meant she’d be coming to wake someone up sooner or later, so he really needed to get moving now lest she decide to go wake up her parents.

He reached blindly for his phone on the nightstand, and, after a few misses, finally found it and silenced the alarm. He gave himself a moment to rub his eyes and sigh before stumbling out of the bed in the guest bedroom of the Starks’ house. After pocketing his phone and stretching his legs, he headed for the kitchen.

This was the third time Peter had stayed overnight with the Starks. The first time had seemed to Peter to be a happy accident, but then Tony had invited him back a few weeks later. Now, weekend sleepovers with the Starks seemed like they might become a semi-regular thing. Peter didn’t mind that one bit. Though the city would always be home, sometimes it was nice to step away from the rush and spend some time upstate with people he loved.

When he arrived in the eating area, Peter found Morgan sitting at the table talking animatedly to her teddy bear. Pepper, ever the problem solver, had taught Morgan to bring a toy with her to the kitchen in the mornings so she’d be occupied for a little while before she got bored and decided to wake someone up. Peter was particularly grateful for that practice this morning. “Good morning, Mo,” he said, grimacing slightly at the mild roughness his voice carried after having just woken up. He rounded the table and kissed her lightly on the crown of her head before continuing on toward the kitchen.

“Hi, Petey, wanna play?” she asked. Closer inspection of the table revealed that she’d brought a toy for him too.

“Sure, but I want to eat first. I’m starving. Do you want breakfast too?” Peter crossed the kitchen to the pantry before glancing back over his shoulder to see Morgan nodding. “What do you want?”

“Apple Jacks, please.”

Peter pulled the requested cereal out of the pantry and set it on the counter before gathering up bowls, spoons, and milk. He knew from experience that he needed to pour the cereal and milk for her. The first time he’d stayed over, he had made the mistake of letting her pour her own milk, and nearly half of the carton had wound up on the floor.

“You want anything to drink?” he asked as he carried her breakfast over to the table. He placed the bowl in front of her with a mindless, affectionate stroke of his hand across the top of her head.

“No thank you,” she said as she began to dig into her breakfast.

“Did you sleep well?” Peter asked, returning to the pantry to grab a box of Lucky Charms.

Morgan nodded and smiled. “Daddy read me _three_ stories last night!”

Peter feigned shock. “Three stories? How did you manage that?”

Morgan shrugged. “I asked for more cuddles. Then he read me two more stories.”

Peter couldn’t help his smile. Tony and Pepper always talked about Morgan using her big eyes and exaggerated pout to get Tony to give into her whims, but most of the time that wasn’t necessary. Tony always looked at Morgan like she’d hung the moon. She didn’t even have to ask for most of the things she wanted; Tony just gave them to her unprompted. Morgan didn’t seem to realize just how much Tony adored her. Sure, she knew her father loved and cared for her, but she didn’t seem to understand that Tony spent a good chunk of every day finding ways to make her smile. It was innocent and perfect and everything Peter didn’t know he needed. It made his heart ache.

Peter loaded up his arms with the Lucky Charms, his bowl, his spoon, and milk before returning to the table. After sitting down at the table across from Morgan, he poured a bit of cereal into the bowl. Once the bowl was about half full, he set to work pushing all the marshmallows to one side of the bowl. When he had his marshmallows sufficiently isolated, he tipped the bowl over the cereal box to dump some of the cereal back in the box while leaving the marshmallows in the bowl.

Morgan looked up at the commotion. “Are you taking the good stuff?”

Peter blushed a bit, but nodded. “The marshmallows are the best part!”

Morgan looked unimpressed. “Duh,” she sassed.

Peter stopped his cereal pouring to level Morgan with a stern expression. “Not a nice word, Mo.”

She squirmed slightly. “Sorry, Petey.” She paused a beat. “But you can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

Morgan crossed her little arms and Peter almost laughed at how much she resembled a tiny, brown-haired Pepper. “Daddy will tickle you.”

Peter continued on with his pursuit of a bowl that was decidedly more marshmallows than cereal. “Your dad wouldn’t do that to me.”

“Are you sure about that?” Peter nearly leapt out of his seat at the sound of Tony’s voice. Though Peter could usually feel that familiar tingle when someone was approaching him from behind, that particular sense was notably absent where Tony was concerned. Much to Peter’s dismay, that meant that Tony was still able to sneak up on him.

Peter didn’t even bother responding to what he assumed was a rhetorical question. He merely finished pouring bits of cereal back into the box before closing the cereal box up again. He was just reaching for the carton of milk when he found himself nearly jumping out of his chair once again. This time, the culprit was several fingers skittering along his left side. He couldn’t help the squeal that he let out. “M-mr. Stark, w-what are you doing?” Peter stuttered whirling around to face the smirking man behind him.

“Morgan warned you, didn’t she?”

At the mention of Morgan, Peter took the opportunity to notice that the aforementioned child was now leaned over across the table, peals of laughter pouring from her mouth as she watched the scene unfold. Peter sat back down in his chair, blushing furiously and still catching his breath. He was struggling to come up with words to respond, but Tony bailed him out. “Alright, giggle monster, settle down and finish up your breakfast. Once you’re done, you can go upstairs and wake up Mommy.”

At this, Morgan picked her spoon back up and began to plow through her breakfast at a rate that rivaled Peter’s post-patrol snack pace. Morgan was always itching to wake her mother up on weekend mornings, but she wasn’t allowed to do so without permission. Now that she had her father’s blessing to invade the master bedroom, she was on a mission to finish eating as quickly as humanly possible. By the time Peter had somewhat composed himself and finished preparing his cereal, Morgan was jumping up from the table, depositing her dishes in the sink, and scampering off toward Tony and Pepper’s bedroom.

With Morgan now out of the room, Tony sat down at the table next to Peter. He stared at Peter for a long moment before finally speaking. “I’m sorry about that, kid. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Peter’s faint look of discomfort transformed to an expression of confusion. “Shouldn’t have done what, Mr. Stark? What are you talking about?”

“I shouldn’t have tickled you. I’m sorry. I’m used to messing around and playing with Morgan all the time, so I guess I momentarily forgot that you aren’t her. Not everyone is comfortable being touched, and I shouldn’t have done that to you.”

Peter shook his head vehemently. “No, Mr. Stark, it was fine! Totally fine! It didn’t bother me at all! Please don’t feel bad.”

“Then why have you looked like you’re about to jump out of your skin from the moment I walked into the room?”

“Because, I’m just not used to this, okay?” Peter said it a bit more loudly and pointedly than he had intended to. It seemed all of his interactions with Tony had held a hint of awkwardness ever since he came back, and he was beginning to lose patience in trying to deal with it.

Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “You aren’t used to what? Being touched? Does May not touch you?”

Peter huffed. “Of course May touches me! Have you ever met her? I can’t even remember the last time she let me out of the house without a hug goodbye.” Okay, so maybe he was getting a bit emphatic at this point, but the implication that May might not be adequately providing for his needs struck a nerve.

Tony tilted his head to the side, silently asking Peter to explain further. “I meant that I’m not used to this _with you_. We don’t do this, Mr. Stark. You’re not playful. You’re not affectionate. Well, you weren’t, but I guess you are now. I guess you have been for a while now. Or maybe not a while. I don’t know. I don’t know when this happened. All I know is I was here one minute, and then I was gone the next. I came back five years later, and you’re different than you were before. I’m just not used to it. I’m still adjusting. I’m still figuring out what’s normal.”

Tony felt like he’d been kicked in the chest. He’d noticed something ever since Peter had come back. There were moments when things just felt off, but he’d never been able to put his finger on the cause. He had wanted to press further every time he’d felt a twinge of awkwardness when he chatted with Peter or put his arm around him, but then life would move on and he’d forget about it until the next time it happened. Now he felt like crap. “No, I guess you’re right. We didn’t used to do this kind of thing, did we?”

“I tried to hug you, and you told me we weren’t there yet.” The tone of Peter’s voice coupled with the soft smile on his face when he spoke gave away his teasing intent, but Tony couldn’t help but hear it in an entirely different way. His face fell, and he heaved a deep sigh.

“You’re right, kid, I wasn’t the man I should’ve been back then.”

Peter’s eyes went wide. His hands came up in front of him in an attempt to stop Tony’s impending explanation. “No, no, Mr. Stark! I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t mean-”

“No, Pete, let me finish.” 

Peter hesitantly closed his mouth and waited for Tony to speak.

“I wasn’t the man I should’ve been for you back then. I didn’t listen to you enough. I didn’t spend enough time with you. I used you.”

Peter flinched like he’d been slapped. He opened his mouth to say something, but the hand Tony held up in front of his face stopped him from speaking. “I did, Peter. I took you to Germany to fight my battles with me, and then I sent you back home and ignored you. I left you in a dangerous position with Toomes. I dismissed you. And I did it all without giving anything to you besides a few suits. Then one day you were gone, and I knew right away I had screwed up. I felt it immediately when I came home. Then Morgan came along and I felt it even more. Watching her grow, learning to be a father to her, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d never hugged you, I never watched Back to the Future with you, I never took you shopping for your first tailored suit. I’ve known for a while now that I failed you, Peter, and I’m sorry.”

To his horror, Peter could feel that his cheeks were slightly damp. “Please don’t say that, Mr. Stark. You didn’t fail me. You could never. You gave me my suits. You taught me how to be a hero. You were there to back me up when I needed someone. I never could’ve been half of what I was without you.” He wiped his eyes and nose on his sleeve before looking back up to make eye contact with Tony. “Please don’t think you failed me,” he whispered.

“I have a lot of regrets, Peter. I can’t even tell you how many days I sat around here wishing I could go back and do it all differently. I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance. I have the chance now, and I’m going to do it differently.”

“Thank you.” Peter reached for Tony’s hand, grabbed it, and squeezed it once before letting it go. “You were good to me. Even before all this, you were good to me.”

Peter could see that the weight of the moment was getting to Tony. Tony had never been a person who was comfortable talking about his feelings. Well, or he wasn’t five years ago, anyway. He was changing; that much was clear. Nevertheless, he still had his limits, and Peter could see that Tony was reaching the point when the heaviness and the emotions became too much. “I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one,” Tony said finally.

Peter wanted so badly to argue, but he knew that Tony needed him to let the conversation shift, so he allowed it. “Are we good now?” he asked, a tentative smile forming on his face.

Tony smiled back. “Yeah, kiddo, we’re good. We’re always good.” Peter hoped like crazy that was true.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments. The sunlight streaming in through the window was beginning to fill the kitchen, and it brought with it a kind of calm. Peter wouldn’t mind living in this moment for another minute or thirty. It was moments like this one that made him feel like maybe everything was going to feel right again, feel whole again.

Tony’s voice broke the silence. “Hey, Pete?”

“Hmm,” Peter hummed softly, still clinging to the peace and beauty of the moment. When he turned to look at Tony, he saw a soft, fond smile on Tony’s face.

“You said it didn’t bother you, right? Earlier, when I tickled you, that wasn’t too much? I didn’t go too far?”

Peter nodded absently. “No, it didn’t bother me. It was actually kind of nice. It was fun, playful. I liked it.”

There was a pause just long enough to make Peter glance back at Tony again. Peter could identify the exact moment when Tony’s smile morphed from fond to mischievous. “Oh, it was nice, was it? You liked it?”

It took Peter a moment to understand the change in Tony’s expression and the connotation of his questions, but once he did, he was springing up from his chair and shaking his head. “Wait, Mr. Stark, no! We were having a moment! Don’t be mean!” Tony was reaching for him with wriggling fingers and a wide smirk as he too stood from his chair. “Come on, that’s not what I meant! Don’t!”

Despite Peter’s whining pleas, a smile was stretching across his face, and laughter was overtaking his words. It made Tony think of countless precious memories of playing with Morgan in the kitchen and then holding her on his lap, pressing kisses to her cheeks, her nose, and her hair as she snuggled against him on the couch. He began to chuckle softly as he chased Peter out of the kitchen and down the hall. Peter’s laughter-filled voice echoed off the walls, something about twisting his words and taking things out of context. Peter had been right. Things had changed. And Tony could not be more happy that they had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please do let me know if you have a preference for which direction I take the +1 chapter, or if you have any other thoughts.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this one! Please share your thoughts, especially if you have a preference about which plus one I should do.


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